The two inspirational women leaders whom Vijay chose as TVK's guiding spirits

CHENNAI: Their large-than-life cutouts were at the entrance of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s conference venue in Villupuram and also on stage when actor-politician Vijay was delivering his maiden public speech as a politician. Along with EVR Periyar, K Kamaraj, and BR Ambedkar, they are among the five stalwarts that the party identified as its guiding spirits.

Also Read: What does TVK anthem reveal about Vijay’s political ideology

But the two women leaders whom Vijay named and honoured are, perhaps, not very well known outside Tamil Nadu. So, who are Queen Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal?

Velu Nachiyar (January 3, 1730 – December 25, 1796)

Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga was the first Indian queen to wage a war against the British rule in India. The only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of Ramnad, she married Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar, the second king of Sivaganga.

After her husband was killed by the combined forces of the East India Company and Nawab of Arcot, she took her daughter and fled from there. She received protection from Mysuru Sultan Hyder Ali, who provided her with an army and military resources.

In the next eight years, Velu Nachiyar gathered a huge army, which also had female warriors. Some accounts talk about a Dalit woman, Kuyili, applying ghee on her body and setting herself afire to destroy the English armoury, which was a key turning point in Velu Nachiyar’s success in the battle. But there is not documentary evidence to prove this.

On December 31, 2003, the nation honored Velu Nachiyar by issuing a commemorative postage stamp.

Anjalai Ammal (~1820-1961)

Anjalai Ammal from Cuddalore, who was hailed as South India's Jhansi Rani by Mahatma Gandhi, was a prominent freedom fighter, social activist, reformer, and politician. She served as a two-time member of the legislature, and played a significant role in India’s independence movement, during which she endured nearly eight years of prison term.

In 1921, she joined the non-cooperation movement and actively participated in the freedom struggle, leading initiatives such as the Salt Satyagraha and Quit India Movement in Tamil Nadu.

In 1937, she became the first woman in Tamil Nadu to win a general election. She repeated this in 1946, and after India gained independence in 1947, Anjalai Ammal was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Madras Province for the third time.

According to media reports, the British government jailed her when she was pregnant and released her for delivering. Then they sent her back to jail.